NCAA – Page 132 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Here’s Help Forecasting NCAA Tourney

Posted on March 14, 2016March 14, 2016 by David Shama

Don’t overlook the University of Arkansas at Little Rock when filling out your NCAA Tournament bracket.

That’s the advice of former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher who has been studying tournament fields for 50 years. He predicts the Trojans, a No. 12 seed in the Midwest Region, will upset No. 5 seed Purdue in an opening round game this week. “They’re a real sleeper team,” Dutcher said about the 29-win Trojans.

Upsets are common during the first week of “March Madness” and there is a lot of parity in the field of 68 teams but only a handful are seen as potential Final Four entrants next month in Houston. Dutcher thinks the last four teams will be Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina and Oklahoma. Kansas is the No. 1 overall tournament seed and Dutcher’s choice to win the national championship.

All four of his predicted finalists are either No. 1 or No. 2 seeds in their regions. “I really went out a limb,” he said.

North Carolina may have the most talented team in the tournament but Dutcher said there might be some glory coming for J.P. Macura and his Xavier teammates. The former Lakeville North guard is Xavier’s fifth leading scorer at 9.6 points per game. The Musketeers are the No. 2 seed in the East behind Carolina and if you’re looking for a mid-major to make a deep tournament run it could be the Musketeers. “Xavier is pretty good,” he said.

A problem for Macura and teammates, though, is the East Region is loaded with strong teams including Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. “I think the toughest route to the Final Four is out of the East,” Dutcher said.

California, the No. 4 seed in the South, has Dutcher’s attention. “Cal is playing really strong,” he said. “They have at least two No. 1 (NBA) draft choices.” Draftexpress.com predicts forward Jaylen Brown will be the third overall pick in the 2016 draft, with forward Ivan Rabb also a first rounder, and point guard Tyrone Wallace a second round choice.

Dutcher believes Iowa State has “got a chance” to be a surprise team in the Midwest but the Cyclones’ in-state rival Iowa isn’t likely to do much in the South. The Hawkeyes have lost five of their last six games and Dutcher said a problem is Iowa plays too many different defenses and doesn’t execute. “They don’t play great defense,” Dutcher said. “They just give up too many points.”

If pressed for a possible surprise team from the West Region, Dutcher goes with Texas A&M. The Aggies are a physical team and got a Final Four vote from college basketball authority Seth Davis on the CBS tournament selection show yesterday.

Worth Noting

The Gophers men’s basketball program has only qualified four times for the NCAA Tournament this century. Minnesota participated in 2013, 2010, 2009 and 2005, with a cumulative record of 1-4.

Coach Richard Pitino’s three-year Big Ten regular season record is 16-38. Minnesota was 2-16 this year, the most conference losses in school history.

The Gophers’ average attendance for the team’s 18 home games was 10,292. That’s the lowest since the 1970-1971 season, 8,395.

Ken Lien will announce the 2016 Mr. Basketball award winner at 5:15 p.m. on 1500 ESPN. The prediction here is the winner will be Amir Coffey from Hopkins High School.

The amazing Sid Hartman—who no longer drives a car but still writes multiple columns per week for the Star tribune and voices opinions six times weekly on WCCO Radio—has his 96th birthday tomorrow, March 15.

Does Jordan Schroeder sleep with a suitcase next to his bed? The 25-year-old forward and Lakeville, Minnesota native has been recalled from the Wild’s Iowa AHL team six times this season. The latest pack your bags notice came when Wild GM Chuck Fletcher announced Friday Schroeder was rejoining the team to fill a roster need. Schroeder, who has scored one goal in 16 games for the Wild, has been among the scoring leaders for Iowa where he has 34 points in 40 games.

P.J. Fleck, 35, is one of the most hyped young head football coaches in the country. Featured in Sports Illustrated last year, Fleck has impressed with his charisma while coaching at Western Michigan. He will be a headline speaker on March 31 at the annual Minnesota Football Coaches Association Clinic at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park.

While the clinic is annually attended mostly by high school coaches, new this year is the Youth Coaches Clinic April 1 and 2. Sessions on blocking and developing young quarterbacks will be among the offerings for coaches from youth football organizations. There will also be an opportunity to hear Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema speak to all MFCA Clinic attendees April 1. More at mnfootballcoaches.com.

Ron Stolski, executive director of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association, is also head coach at Brainerd where this fall he will be in his 55th season of prep coaching.

Lovie Smith went to a Super Bowl and won NFC North Division championships coaching the Bears so the surprise announcement last week that he is the new Illinois head coach adds another prominent name to the Big Ten. With his NFL roots and known brand in Chicago, Smith can change Illini recruiting for the better but Ryan Burns thinks Notre Dame will still get “the cream of the crop.” Burns is publisher of Scout’s GopherDigest.com.

The Illini have fallen on hard times since a Rose Bowl appearance in 2008. Establishing a winning program will be needed to change recruiting, and that figures to take awhile. Still, Burns predicts improvement in Illinois recruiting for 2017.

“This (2017) will probably be Illinois’ best class in the last five years or so, just because Lovie is a big name,” Burns said. “But I don’t think they’ll be competing with the Penn States, the Michigan States of the world. Even the Minnesotas. If they were able to get on par with what Minnesota has been doing, I think that would be a pretty good jump for them, but I don’t think it will be dramatic.”

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WCHA and Big Ten Explore Alliance

Posted on January 25, 2016January 27, 2016 by David Shama

WCHA and Big Ten leaders are discussing ideas that could result in more men’s hockey games between the two leagues.

WCHA men’s commissioner Bill Robertson told Sports Headliners he had an exploratory meeting recently with Big Ten deputy commissioner Brad Traviolia. Discussion included some day having a combined tournament with teams from the two leagues, and also a series of regional rivalry games.

“The next step is we’re going to continue these discussions and bring ideas to each other’s executive committees and coaches to help define how we move forward,” Robertson said. “At this point it’s all conceptual but certainly there are ideas we will continue to build on.”

The WCHA is a tradition-rich league that still boasts nationally-ranked teams but the conference lost some prestige when historic power programs Minnesota and Wisconsin opted out to help form a Big Ten hockey league. The WCHA currently has 10 teams including two from the state of Minnesota, Bemidji State and Minnesota State. The six-team Big Ten began in the fall of 2013, and the league has its critics including in Minneapolis-St. Paul where fans miss old rivalries and feel the Gophers should be in a larger, more hockey oriented conference.

Robertson, who has career marketing experiences in the NHL, is an innovator and he believes both the WCHA and Big Ten could benefit in exposure and revenues with alliances that might include something similar to basketball’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge. That annual fall matchup schedules games between teams from the two leagues that have been popular with fans and TV audiences. A Big Ten/WCHA Challenge could include regional rivalry games like Minnesota-Minnesota State and Michigan-Michigan Tech.

Robertson, whose league offices are in Edina, continues to dialogue with Arizona State about that school’s hockey program joining the WCHA. He said more will be known in the spring, and that 2017-2018 will be the earliest the Sun Devils would join the league.

An 11-team league isn’t ideal, though, so a 12th member could eventually be added—perhaps UNLV. Las Vegas is a growing hockey market and a possible location for an NHL expansion franchise.

Worth Noting

Carter Coughlin, the Gophers’ four-star linebacker recruit from Eden Prairie High School, who is expected to sign his National Letter of Intent next month, will have to rest his left shoulder for about 3½ months following surgery last Thursday. Jennie Coughlin, Carter’s mother, told Sports Headliners the shoulder injury dates back to his junior season, and the expectation is he will be healthy when the Gophers start workouts in June. She said Carter is already recovered from the concussion he sustained in a high school all-star game earlier this month.

Richard Pitino’s basketball team is 0-8 in Big Ten games and appears headed toward a low final finish in the conference standings, but the coach will be rewarded with $450,000 this spring. In addition to his normal compensation of more than $1.5 million, Pitino will receive $450,000 on April 30 for a “contract fulfillment incentive.” If he is still the Gophers coach on April 30, 2019, he receives another $450,000.

Ken Lien, the state prep basketball authority who runs the Mr. Basketball program, travels extensively watching high school boys teams. He shared his state rankings with Sports Headliners:

Class 4A. 1. Hopkins; 2. Apple Valley; 3. Osseo; 4. Maple Grove; 5. Champlin Park; 6. Lakeville North; 7. Shakopee; 8. Wayzata; 9. Woodbury; 10. Rochester John Marshall.

Class 3A. 1. Red Wing; 2. DeLaSalle; 3. Delano; 4. Waconia; 5. Orono; 6. Benilde-St. Margaret’s; 7. Marshall; 8. Austin; 9. Minneapolis Patrick Henry; 10. Fergus Falls.

Class 2A. 1. Caledonia; 2. St. Croix Lutheran; 3. Braham; 4. Lake City; 5. Melrose; 6. Albany; 7. Minnehaha Academy; 8. Eden Valley-Watkins; 9. Esko; 10. St. Paul Academy.

Class 1A. 1. Minneapolis North; 2. Spring Grove; 3. Rushford-Peterson; 4. Central Minnesota Christian; 5. Murray County Central; 6. Hillcrest Lutheran; 7. Goodhue; 8. Browerville; 9. North Woods; 10. Battle Lake.

The Twins announced today they have given third baseman Trevor Plouffe a one-year contract for $7,250,000 in 2016. Plouffe, who was originally drafted by the Twins in the first round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, set single season highs last year in hits (140), RBI (86), runs scored (74), games (152), at-bats (573) and triples (4). Plouffe’s .972 fielding percentage ranked third among major league third basemen last season.

After last weekend’s two-game sweep of the Badgers, coach Don Lucia’s Gophers hockey team is 13-10 overall and 8-2 in Big Ten games. League-leading Minnesota has won five straight and could boost the spirits of often critical fans next weekend in the North Star College Cup at the Xcel Energy Center.

The Gophers play Bemidji State on Saturday while an earlier game matches Minnesota State and St. Cloud State. If Minnesota defeats the Beavers, a cup title game on Sunday against the Minnesota State and St. Cloud State winner could be opportune for the Gophers to earn more national respect. St. Cloud State, ranked No. 3 in the latest USCHO.com national poll, might be the best team in the country. The Gophers are No. 20 in the poll, while Minnesota State is No. 19.

Gophers booster and St. Paul native T. Denny Sanford celebrated his 80th birthday last month in both Sioux Falls, where Tim McGraw entertained, and also in San Diego at a party with Frankie Valli performing.

The Gophers baseball team will play some of its games starting in 2017 in U.S. Bank Stadium, the new downtown covered facility. The Gophers will have their own locker room in the multiuse facility that is expected to host over 200 amateur baseball games in its first 12 months of operation. The longest distance from home plate to the outfield will be 400 feet, while the shortest will be 301 feet. Coach John Anderson and his players toured the stadium last Friday. The Gophers will also continue to play games outdoors at Siebert Field.

With Seahawks safety Earl Thomas unable to play because of an injury, Vikings safety Harrison Smith has been selected for his first Pro Bowl. Since entering the NFL in 2012, Smith is one of two players to have at least 12 interceptions and 5.0 sacks. Reshad Jones from the Dolphins is the other player. The Pro Bowl will be played next Sunday in Hawaii.

New Vikings assistant coach Pat Shurmur will coach the tight ends. The club announced today that former tight ends coach Kevin Stefanski will take over as the running backs coach replacing Kirby Wilson who is joining the Browns. Shurmur, a former head coach with the Browns, was the Eagles tight end coach from 1999-2001.

Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway turned 33 earlier this month, and his returning for another season with the team seems questionable. A highlight for him last year was his 22 tackles game against the Raiders, the second best in franchise history.

Greenway was durable during the 2015 season. Ben Goessling, writing for espn.com last Wednesday, said Greenway maxed out on his per game bonus incentive by being on the 46-man roster for all 16 regular season games. Greenway, who agreed during the offseason to take less salary in 2015, earned $500,000 in bonus money, according to Goessling.

Las Vegas sports books positioned the Panthers as four point favorites over the Broncos for Super Bowl 50, according to an online story this morning by Matt Youmans for the Las Vegas Journal-Review.

Friends of the late Steve Wilkinson remembered the one-year anniversary of his death last Thursday. The legendary former Gustavus Adolphus national championship tennis coach touched many lives with the Gusties and his well-known Tennis and Life Camps.

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U Gets Poised Leader in Seth Green

Posted on December 14, 2015December 14, 2015 by David Shama

East Ridge High School assistant coach Dave Fritze raves about Seth Green’s poise and general demeanor. He also told Sports Headliners the quarterback recruit’s verbal commitment to Minnesota may have been influenced by East Ridge fullback Connor Mohs, who is going to be a preferred walk-on with the Gophers.

Green, who played at East Ridge in Woodbury prior to moving to Texas earlier this year, flipped his verbal commitment from Oregon to Minnesota with an announcement yesterday. He is a coveted pass-run quarterback recruit who is now expected to sign a Letter of Intent with Minnesota on National Signing Day February 3.

“He is probably the most calm player I’ve ever been around as a coach,” said Fritze. “As a freshman he came off the field in a tight game and a coach was going crazy. Seth said, ‘Hey, coach, we’re going to be fine here.’ ”

Fritze was the Eagan High School head coach for 17 years and is now the Raptors defensive coordinator. Fritze, whose son Dan is the East Ridge head coach, said Mohs and Green have been friends since both were high school freshmen. He also said the two are talking about rooming together at Minnesota and their close relationship could have impacted Green’s decision to become a Gopher.

Mohs was a two-year starter for the Raptors and had Division II offers but wants to accept preferred walk-on status with the Gophers. Preferred walk-ons, although they aren’t scholarship players, generally are assured of a roster spot their first year on the team at major college programs. “He was probably the best leader on our team,” Fritze said about the 6-2, 230-pound Raptors captain.

Green is expected to enroll at Minnesota in January, with Mohs coming to campus later in the year. Fritze said it’s expecting a lot for a freshman quarterback to play in games his first year at the Big Ten level but he doesn’t hold back in evaluating Green’s skills.

“Seth has got all the physical and mental tools,” Fritze said about the 6-4, 215-pound Green. “He’s got great height, great speed, (is) strong, (and a) really strong arm. He’ll have to learn how to read defenses and see two or three receivers (on the same play).”

Fritze also said Green is an outstanding student, and is “just a great kid, nice young man.”

The Fritzes helped coach the Raptors to a surprise 11-2 record this fall and a Class 6A playoff run that ended with a loss to Osseo.

Worth Noting

The Gophers football team arrives in Detroit on Christmas Eve day to participate in events leading up to the December 28 Quick Lane Bowl game against Central Michigan. Minnesota will practice at Ford Field, the game site, on Christmas Day. The Gophers have practices on campus this week.

Steve and Dorothy Erban’s Stillwater-based Creative Charters is taking a fan group to Detroit for the bowl game. The group will depart Minneapolis on the morning of the game and return the next day. The cost of $499 per person includes air transportation via Sun Country, ground transfers, one night’s lodging, and game ticket. The Erbans have been taking fans to Gophers games since 1993. More information at Creativecharter.com.

New Gophers coach Tracy Claeys will speak to the CORES group on March 10. Twins president Dave St. Peter speaks on January 7. CORES lunch programs are held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans. More information is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.

The best basketball game I’ve seen this fall—pro, college or preps—was at Minnetonka High School on Saturday where Hopkins defeated Apple Valley, 89-81. It was an up and down the floor game with lead changes and athletic plays. Seldom, if ever, has a high school game in Minnesota included so many talented players including coveted college recruits Gary Trent Jr. and Tre Jones of Apple Valley, and Hopkins’ Amir Coffey.

The game was the featured piece of the annual Breakdown Sports Tipoff Classics at Minnetonka involving boys and girls teams. The West Court was so packed for the game the Minnetonka fire marshal and police arrived to clear exits and aisles for safety.

Basketball fans and the Minnesota State High School League have to hope for a rematch between Hopkins and Apple Valley in March during the prep playoffs.

Texas Tech head coach Tubby Smith and assistant Joe Esposito were at Minnetonka High on Saturday. Esposito said the Red Raiders are recruiting five Minnesota preps currently. After Smith’s six-year tenure as Gophers coach, he and his staff still have relationships in the state and they target Minnesota as a key recruiting area.

Esposito, Saul Smith, and Vince Taylor, all former Gophers assistants under Tubby Smith, are on the staff at Texas Tech. Ron Jirsa, who was a key assistant at Minnesota with Smith, is an assistant coach at Radford (Radford, Virginia).

Kevin Garnett is now the NBA’s all-time leading career defensive rebounder but the league didn’t begin keeping the statistic until 1973. That failure does a disservice to the NBA’s great rebounders from the 1950s and 1960s like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell who averaged more than 20 rebounds (offensive and defensive) per season. In today’s NBA it’s unusual to see anyone average over 16 rebounds.

The Vikings announced a roster move today, signing defensive end Justin Trattou and waiving safety Shaun Prater. Trattou has already played in two games this season, with his stats including one interception.

The NFL season is in its closing weeks and as usual the injuries totals are troublesome for teams. Durability over a 16-game season has everything to do with the success of a team and individuals. Bud Grant, the former Vikings coach who took the team to four Super Bowls, said all the great players have durability. Earlier this month he talked about Brett Favre’s consecutive starts streak of 297 games and how players like Jim Marshall, who played for Grant, never missed a practice or game.

“You find out that the greatest ability a player has is his durability,” Grant said. “You never achieve greatness without durability. It doesn’t do any good to play eight games a year. You gotta play 16 games a year. It doesn’t do any good to be great one year, and out the next year.”

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